Telephone substation ringer



July 25, 1950 'J. F. HOUDEK, JR

TELEPHONE SUBSTATION RINGER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16, 1946 FIG. 2

I NVENTOR: JOSEPH F. HOUDK,JR. BY

ATTORNEY July 25, 1950 J. F. HOUDEK} JR 2,516,214

TELEPHONE SUBSTATION RINGER Filed May 16, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4Ii J I :i 2 3 4 @e 3 0 jNON-MAGNETIC 9 IO 7 II 9 11 FIG. 6 4 D 8 3x I III B i a INVENTOR: JOSEPH F. HOUDEK,JR.

ATTORNEY Jul 25, 1950 J. F. HOUDEK, JR

TELEPHONE SUBSTATION RINGER Filed May 16, 1946 FIG. l2

FIG. l4

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. I 5

luyeuron: JOSEPH F. HOUDEK,J R.

BVW

ATTORNEY Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE TELEBHONESUBSTATIONRINGER Joseph .F. Houdck, Jn, =Chicag0,-Ill., assignor to.

Kellogg; Switchboard and Supply Company, Chicago; 111., a; corporationoflllinois,

ApplicationzMay'lfi, 1946; Serial No. 670,265

41Claims.

'Ihis ainVention relates; to telephone substation. ringersi Itsprincipalobject is atoprovidea sim-. pleaand reliable.constructionlwhich permits-ring ersto beiproduced. economically-audio bereadily adjusted to.meetoperating.requirements.

A further object isztoprovide. for. amaximum interchangeability-of partsbetween tuned and none-tuned ringersstoifacilitate the manufacturingofringers of the: .two types.

Astillfurther object is. to provide a. suitable mountingarrangementsfor. ringers.- which transmits a minimum ofclattenincidentmto.armature. operation. while holding: the ringersufficiently rigid that the intended.operation.thereof,,.particularlyif: atuned-ringer; is notimpaired.

One feature of the invention is that adjustment: oi. the. assembledringer. is] accomplished: by sliding the. electromagnetsandthepolarizing. mag.- net with respectto the armature.

Another. feature isthat the samexbasic assembly canbe completedasanontuned ringer. or as. as. a .tuned. ringer,..according. to -whether onearmature assembly or anathema-employed.

Other objects andfeatures ofithe invention will. become apparent asthedescription. progresses.

Of. the accompanyingdrawings,Figs. l.t0. 11- show. a non-tuned. ringeraccordingto -thelinvens tion while Figs.- 12' to. 16 showattuned.ringer.-ac-

cording to. the. invention..

Fiigs; 1: and.2 are:respectively:a.top view and; a

rear view.- of' the. now-tuned ringer: mountedlon a supporting ,base.plate.-.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view.of.'thedevice of. Figs. 1- and 2. takengenerally along :line. 3--3' of Fig.. 1.

Figs. 4, 5, ,6;.andi7. are respectively a frontview, a. topv view,, a.rear view; and; a side .view of. the foundation assembly oftheringershowndn Figs. 1 to. 3".

Figs;. 8,. 9,. 10, and 11 are respectively. a. front. view,.a.to.pvview,. arear. view; and.a side view of: the. slidablyadjustablemagnetassembly; shown. with .the coils. of. theelectromagnetsremoved.

Eigs. .12. andla are respectively. a topiview and. areanview of.atuned'ri'nger according to the in--- vention.

Fig. 1A is: a siddsectional. view taken: generally, along the line l4--l[of-Fig.- 121'.

Figs; 15 and 16 are respectively airearview and. a: bottom view of" thearmaturei-clapperassembly of 'the ringer'of Figs. 12 to 14.

Referring first to. Figs. 1-. to 11,.thenon-tuned ringer illustratedthereinzwillibeidescribed. This ringer may be furtherdescribed'as abiased ringer in thatthe armatureisbiasedlto standfnormally inassociation with one electromagnet, as shown. Itincludesthe. foundationassembly of Figs. 4120 7 and .parts mountedthereon. Thefoundation as.-sembly comprises-parts 2 and. 4 secured together, as by rivets 31. Part2comprises a mounting strap of relatively thin and comparatively springymateriahwhile part 4 isa non-magnetic foundationi plate towhich theother parts going to make up theringer. are attached.

In Figs. 1 to 3, the complete ringer. is shown. mountedon baseplate l,which has raisedbosses. (Figs.- 2 and 3) ,tapped to receive mountingscrews. l3.-. All. parts. ofthe ringer are thus held out of. direct.contacttwith base plate. I, such contact as. exists between the ringerand base platebeing by way of. the comparatively thinand flexiblemounting strap 2.- Direct transmissionof clatter, incidentto thevarmature of. the mechanism striking the. ends. of the electromagnets,and incident. to the clapper striking the gongs, is materially reducedby. this simple illustrated. strap mounting.

Foundation plate 4 is. provided at the front with. arms,5,.tapp,ed toreceive screws mounting genes 14 respectively thereto. Tab 6 isturnedup. at the frontof. the structure and is tappedas shown best in Fig. 4to-receive adjustment screw 4|...

The rear portion ofplate 4 has a portion sheared and struck up therefromto provide upstanding wall portion 8, supportingthe rearwardly extendinghorizontal portion 9, ending intab II]. A hole. is provided through part9 and through the underlying main portion of founda tion plate 4 toreceive pivot rod32 for mounting.- armature 30.

The armatureassemblyof the device of. Figs. 1. to 3 includes armature 30which has upper and lower ears 3l,. pierced. toreceive pivot rod 32. Theupper ear 3i. is sheared and struck up fromthe armature, leaving anopening in (the armature. throughwhich the rearwardly extending part 9.ofl'foundation assembly 4 freely passes. Armature 30 is. provided withnon-magnetic core.en.- gaging members 33, applied in .the form ofrivets. Their well-understood function is to reduce. the tendency of thearmature to freeze in either. of. its two extreme .positions.

The rear end of clapper rod 34 is suitably upset to provide anenlargedportion throughwhich it is secured to the armature, as by riveting. Theclapper 35 is mountedon the front end of the rod 34 in aposition tostrike the gongs I4 alternately as the armature turns back and forthabout pivot. rod 32;

As previously. noted; the non-tuned ringer is illustrated as being ofthe biased type. To this end, it is provided with bias spring 36,comprising a round reed forced into a hole in armature 30, the front endentering an eccentric opening in adjusting member 31. Spring 36 thusexerts a normal force on the armature causing it to return to theillustrated position after every use thereof, whereby, when in normalposition, it is not affected by current flow in a given direction.

One special advantage of the disclosed arrangement resides in the magnetassembly which is longitudinally adjustable as a unit to regulate thestroke of the armature. This magnet assembly includes electromagnetshaving cores 25. and windings 40, permanent bar magnet 24, and thecommon yoke 2| of magnetic material. This assembly is shown in fourseparate views, Figs. 8

short of the end of cores 25, whereby the bar magnet does riot directlycontact armature 3|] in any position of stroke adjustment, whereby theintendedmovement of the armature cannot be interferediwith incident tothe sliding of the magnet assembly for stroke adjustment.

P Accurate" and' readily controlled longitudinal to 11, with coils 40removed from their cores 25.

The coils 4| it may be explained, comprise separatespools slipped overcores 25 of the assembly shown in Figs. 8 to 11.

Referring particularily to Figs. 8 to 11, magnetic yoke 2| has ahorizontal part, which overlies foundation plate 4 in assembledposition, and a vertical part which is pierced to receive the shoulderedfront end of electromagnet cores 25. These cores may be held to part 2|,as by the illustrated spring washers, or speed nuts? 26, each Of whichhas inwardly extending parts which snapinto an annular groove in thereduced end portion of its core 25. Cores 25 are thus held yieldingly,whereby sliding of the assembly is not materially afiected by minordisplacement of the location of receiving holes H in the upstanding rearportion 8 of foundation plate 4.

Thefront' end of permanent bar magnet 24 enters an accurately sizedopening in the upstanding portion of yoke 2|. This opening is produced.by a shearing action which provides the rearwardly extending central tab23, which underlies the front end of magnet 24. Parts 23 and 24; areheld rigidly together as by welding.

fYoke 2| is provided with a front tab 22 which is t apped and threadedto receive the reduced forward portion 42 of stroke-adjusting screw 4|.The main upstanding portion of yoke 2| is pierced at 2 1 to receive thereduced portion of rotatable bias-adjusting member 31.

.In the complete assembly of the ringer, as is illustrated in Figs. 1 to3, cores 25 of the magnet assembly shown in Figs. 8 to 11 are providedwith coils 4|], and bias-adjusting member 31 is applied. Member 31 hasan enlarged portion which lies behind the principal upstanding part ofyoke 2|, and a. reduced portion which passes forwardly through hole 21(Figs. 8 and in yoke 2|. The reduced portion of member 3'! is groovedannu-. larly, as seen best in Fig. 3. to receive the arms of hi' furcatespring member 38 which holds part 31 in its assembled position, andretains part 31 by friction in its desired rotational position of'adjustment. The enlarged rear portion of bias-adjusting member 31 isprovided with a longitudinal off-center opening receiving the forward,end,

positioning of the slidable magnet assembly, according to the armaturestroke desired, is obtained by the illustrated compound stroke-adjustingscrewhaving a threaded section-4| and a; reduced threaded section 42.Section 4| threadedly received'in'an opening in upstanding tab 6, formedintegrally with foundation'plate 4, while the reduced portion 42 isthreadedly received in upstanding tab 22, formed integrally withmagnetyok'e 2| of slidable magnet assembly. Preferably-parts 4| and Marcboth threaded in the same direction; right-handed, for example. one ofthe parts, however, is provided with coarse, or's'teeply pitched,threads; the other part is provided with fine, or mildly pitched,threads. It is preferable that-{the larger section 4| be provided withthe coarse threads, and that the smaller"'sect'iofi' 42*be provided withthe fine threads.

With lock nut 43 loosened, stroke-adjusting screw 4 I can'beturned'readily to cause it to travel bodily forwardly,orbodilyrearwardly, according to whether the stroke is to be decreasedor is to be increasedf As' the screw turns and travels in eitherdirection," theslidingmagnet assembly, by virtue of the finer threads onpart 42 and in its cooperating tapped'opening in part 22, travels in thesame direction, but a lesser distance. A dif fe'rential action isthusobtained which depends upon the difference in pitch of 'the threadsbetween the two sections. This difierential action permits a fineadjustment of stroke to be obtained. Another'important advantage of thearrangement reside's'in its extreme simplicity, re quiring only tappedand threaded partsto accomplish the purpose.

' During adjustment, the rear end of the slidable magnet assembly ismaintained in alignment with the remaining pa'rts of the assembly byvirtue of the alignmentbfscrew 4| in its threaded open-Q ings. whenthe'adjustm'ent has been completed, locknut 43 can be tightened againsttab meek ing' thepa'rts in 'their; adjusted position and hold: ing therear end of the magnet assembly more rigidly in alignment independent ofsuch loose-' ness there ma be in the threaded parts. If desired,tabffirnay be inclined to the rear, caus ing screw, 42tote'nd to slopedownwardlyto ard the, rea Wi h .th s a n m t thermherent fiexibilit'yofthe'parts causes the horizontal portion of yoke2| to closely hug the topsur iace of foundationplate 4, thereby keeping the parts tightlypressedtogether during, and after, adjustment. g p n ,Figs. '12 to 16,showing a' tuned ringer accord.- l is tQ.th flin e t nii i owbedescribed!- L'E s- 2v to. s w 'h ih s ,o Figsi0 .3 modified to act isruined ringer. In Figs. 12 to 14; the-armatureassembly' for" thenonetunedi ringer has been: removed: and replacedi by" the arniatureassembly shown in Figs. and 16':- Additionally, parts- 37 and 38 have-been removed, as they are notneededi in. the tuned'ringer;

To remove the armature assembly from the ringer-"of Figs. 1 to 3',itsuffi'ces to remove pivot rod 32 and to withdraw armature 38; togetherWith the attached parts 3 to 36' ma'ki'ng upthe armature assembly;

Thearmature assembly of Figs. 15 and 16 is next pl'aced'in the: positionshown in Figs: 12'- to 14 andis held operatively in that positionthrough themedium of its rearwardly extending reed We, clamped betweenspacer blocks I08, Fig; I3, clamped in" turn between parts I09 and" III]byscrews III. I

Referring particularly to Figs. 15' and l6,- armature I38 is formed,with theoutlineshown in" Fig; 15, of flat stock having a thickness asshown in Fig. 16. Aperture I115 in the armature is for the purpose ofreceiving upper tab S-attac hed to foui'idation plate 4. Flat reed Mi lis maintained in assembled position with armature IOI; bybeing rivetedbetween rearwardly extendingp tabs I56, there being one such tab foreach half portionof the armature.

In the manufacture of the: armature; a piece is first punched. havingthegeneralcontour deshed for the finished product, butwith the lower arms.(belowaperture. M5) for enough apartthat retaining tabs Hi8 may beturned up therefrom. Then the portion of the armature lying above, andalongside, aperture N is bent cdgewiseto bring the innerfaces of theformedtabs lflfi'close enough together to snugly receive reed I94 asillustrated.

Reed I94 and tabs H36 are pierced to receive retaining rivets IEl'i.Clapper rod 32 is upset and secured toarmature lill as discussedhereinbefore in-connection with parts 30. and 34. Rod IE2 isprovided-with clapper N23 for. striking the gongs I4! alternately, theclapper being. s-lidably secured on red: It2,.as by theindicated-:set-screw, to facilitate tuning/of the armature assemblyafter installationnin the ringer.

. It-is well known that a tunedringer'must respond to but a single oneof several frequencies incident to selecting the desired station on acalled telephone party line. For example, frequencies of approximately16, 25. 33, 50, and 66 cycles may be used on the same telephone partyline: Aringer for use at any station onsuch line must be tunedaccordingly; In. the illustrated construction, reedv we may have athickness (varying for example from .910 inch to .022 inch)corresponding to the particular frequency for which it is to be tuned,or to a frequency band within which it is to be tuned to a particularfrequency. The reeds for all frequencies, or frequency bands, may be ofthe same length and width. Armature lIlI may be formed with the tabsIfiii slightly closer together than the thickness of the thickset reed,the insertion of such reed causing a slight spreading. A reed of certainintermediate thickness may just fit between tabs ills, while the thinnerreeds fit loosely between the tabs until rivets Ifil are inserted andtightened, which operation draws the tabs together to result in thedesired assembly.

Reed Hi l is pierced at the rear end to receive the shanks of screws Hi.These screws are passed through parts llll, Hi8, and ltd, and arethreadedly engaged in locating block I09, which 6? bears againsttherside portionsof. parts land 1% (see Figs. Sand '7'); whereby itislocated'laterally; It is? lo'cated'longitudinallyof the-ringer bybeingg slid forwardly into engagement withthe shoulders. in whichparts"land I end.

Clamp plate H6. is similarly located in order that'therear end of reed-I04 be held firmly in its predetermined position located byparts I09 andHE). Clamp plate: H8 is substantially thinner. than locating blockIE9;.and'the-combined thick-- ness of reed; IM and of the two spacerblocks I08= is 1 somewhat less than the width oi locating? tabs 1 andiii; Accordingly, when screws III are drawn. up tightly, clamp plateHilris thereby'bent inwardly. to assume the illustratedbowedappear; anceas: parts N's; Hi4, I68; and ItQ-are brought tightly together. By this.arrangement, reeds of: theseveral required. thicknesses maybe accommodated; the part I Ill being bowedmore or less, according to thethickness of the reed.

To provide a ringertuned'to'any desired frequency; an armature assemblyhavingareed I04 of suitable thickness is selected; and aclapper I03"having a suitable mass is selecte'dand placed approximately in thelocation shown in Figs; l2'and" 14; The magnet assembly is nextadjusted-longitudinally, by stroke-adjusting screw' l I, 4-2;.toprovidea preliminary stroke gap according to the frequency in question. Then,with operating current flowing throughthe windings, the location ofclapper when clapper rod I02 isadjusted to the point giving the mostvigorous response, whereupon the set screw is tightened firmly-to hold'the clapper in that location. Commercial tolerances in thickness of thereed'material'necessitateproviding 'clappers I83 of varying weights for.any frequency to which the ringer may be tuned. Therefore; the clapperfirst selected-mayhave to be replaced by-cne, of a different mass tosecure the desired tuning adjustment.

It is customary; iollowingthe tuning operation; to adjust thesensitivity of the ringer to the end that the" ringer shall operatereliably responsive to the minimum" current likely to be suppliedthereto of the frequency for which it'is tuned, and shall failto respondto the maximum current likely to be supplied thereto at any" otherfrequency. This. sensitivity adjustment is readily accomplished byturning, screw 41, 42 to thereby varythe air gap betweenarmature IOI andcores 25, orthe electromagnetssuch air gap being determinative of thestroke of the armature. The sensitivity varies inversely with thestroke.

When. thestroke adjustmentfor sensitivity has; been. accomplished, the.eccentrically mounted gongs l4 may be rotated to such a position thatthey are struck with about equal force by clapper I03 during operationof the ringer, the striking of either gong being accomplished by aslight overthrow, permitted by the flexibility of clapper rod I02,following the striking of the concerned core 25 by armature I 0 IAttention is called to the fact that parts such as 33 (used on armature30) are not required on armature "H, for reed I 04 can be depended uponto return the armature reliably to its illustrated neutral position.

I claim:

1. In an electromagnetic device, two electromagnets, an armature, afoundation structure, means for adjustably mounting the magnets forlongitudinal movement on the foundation structure, the foundationstructure comprising a fiat non-magnetic plate having an intermediatesection thereof struck up and formed to provide an upstanding portionand a further portion supported thereon and turned rearwardly to overlietherear portion of the plate, said overlying portion and the portionoverlaid thereby cooperating to turnably support the armaturetherebetween, with the armature having an opening therethrough freelyreceiving said further portion of the foundation structure, with thearmature thus extending around and beyond the said further portion ofthe foundation structure.

2. In an electromagnetic device, two electromagnets, an armature, afoundation structure, meansfor adjustably mounting the front end of themagnets for longitudinal movement of the magnets on the foundationstructure toward and away from the rear end thereof, the foundationstructure comprising a flat non-magnetic plate having an intermediatesection thereof struck up and formed to provide an upstanding portionand a further portion supported thereon and turned rearwardly to overliethe rear portion of the plate, said upstanding portion having openingstherethrough receiving the rear end of said magnets respectively tosupport and guide such end thereof incidental to the said movement ofthe magnets, said overlying portion and the portion overlaid therebycooperating to turnably support the armature therebetween in operativerelationship with the rear end of said magnets, with the armature havingan opening therethrough freely receiving said further portion of thefoundation structure, with the armature thus extending around and beyondthe said further portion of the foundation structure.

'3. In an electromagnetic device, a plate-like foundation structure, twoelectromagnets and an intermediate permanent magnet secured together atthe front end of each to comprise an E-shaped magnet structure, anupstanding armature located at the rear of the foundation structure andextending thereacross, means for adjustably mounting the front end ofthe magnets for longitudinal movement on the foundation structure towardand from the armature, the foundation structure comprising a fiatnon-magnetic plate havingan intermediate section thereof struck up andformed to provide an upstanding portion and a further portion supportedthereon and turned rearwardly to overlie the rear portion of the plate,said upstanding portion having three openings therethrough associatedrespectively with the middle portion and the two end portions of thearmature receiving the rear end of said magnets to support and guidesuch endthereof incidental to the said movement of the'magnets, saidoverlying portion and the portion overlaid thereby cooperating toturnably support the armature therebetween for movement about a verticalaxis, with the armaw ture having an opening therethrough freelyreceiving said further portion of the foundation structure, with thearmature thus extending around and beyond the said further portion of,

the foundation structure.

4. In an electromagnetic device, two electromagnets, an upstandingarmature, a foundation structure, means for adjustably mounting themagnets for longitudinal movement on the foundation structure toward andfrom the end portions respectively of the armature, the foundationstructure comprising a fiat non-magnetic plate having an intermediatesection thereof struck up and formed to provide an upstanding portionand a further portion supported thereon and turned rearwardly to overliethe rear portion of the plate, said upstanding portion being perforatedto receive said magnets and to guide the said movement thereof, saidoverlying portion and the portion overlaid thereby cooperating toturnably support the armature therebetween along the vertical medianline thereof, with the armature having an opening therethrough freelyreceiving said further portion of the foundation structure, with thearmature thus extending around and beyond the said further portion ofthe foundation structure.

JOSEPH F. HOUDEK, J-R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 252,497 Mott Jan. 17, 1882686,007 Shoemaker Nov. 5, 1901 710,946 Butlingham Oct. 14, 1902 935,792Jensen Oct. 5, 1909 1,014,125 Craft Jan. 9, 1912 1,106,655 Kaisling Aug.11, 1914 1,125,490 Dean Jan. 19, 1915 1,293,387 Erickson Feb. 4, 19191,831,037 Scott Nov. 10, 1931 1,995,457 Kvaal Mar. 26, 1935 2,209,382Blattner Mar. 10, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 148,516Germany June 19, 1903 316,876 Great Britain Aug. 14, 1930 522,493 GreatBritain June 19, 1940

